19 English Collocations with Think
This lesson was originally published in March 2019.
It was updated with new content and a new video lesson in March 2023.
When talking about tidying up the house, why do English speakers say:
- Do the dishes
- Do the laundry
- Do some ironing
And then…
- Make the bed
Why not ‘do the bed?’
The answer: collocations.
If you watch my lessons consistently, you’ve definitely heard me use the word collocations before.
But what EXACTLY are collocations and how can they help you speak naturally, express yourself with greater clarity, and create sentences more easily?
I’ll be answering those questions today in this Confident English lesson.
Plus, I’ll help you get started with your focus on collocations using 19 English Collocations with ‘Think.’
This includes collocations that
- Include the word ‘think’
- Express what you think
- Indicate that one thought has led to another
- Ask for time to think
- Describe what others think
- Show that you have some doubts about what you think
English Collocations About What You Think—A Smart Way to Boost Your Vocabulary
Let’s go back to the question of why English speakers use do the dishes, do the laundry, do some ironing, and make the bed…
This is because some words in English almost always occur together with other words. It’s like the words are best friends. They show up in sentences together regularly.
These commonly occurring combinations of words are known as collocations.
And, if we make unexpected changes – if we use a different word – these variances or alternative combinations can sound distinctly odd to an English speaker’s ears.
If someone were to use “do the bed” in a sentence, it would immediately sound unusual or sound like a possible mistake.
What are collocations?
- Collocations are two or more words that occur regularly together, with a high degree of probability.
- Collocations help us understand which words belong together and which words don’t.
Why should you use collocations?
- English speakers use collocations in all conversations and forms of communication. Familiarity with collocations can help you strengthen your comprehension skills.
- Not only do collocations help you speak more naturally, but learning collocations can help you to gain greater fluency in English.
- Like phrasal verbs, collocations help us achieve accurate sentence structures and express our thoughts with clarity.
- Collocations help us build sentences quickly and easily.
Most common English collocations with ‘think’
- Honestly think
- Personally think
- Hate to think
- Dread to think
- Shudder to think
Ex. “I personally think you should let your boss know you made a mistake.”
Ex. “The lifeguards rescued him from the water just in time; I shudder to think what would have happened if they hadn’t!”
Collocations to say WHAT you think
- In my opinion, I think…
- I’m of the opinion that…
- I subscribe to the theory that
Ex. “I’m of the opinion that if you are kind, then kindness will come your way.”
Ex. “I subscribe to the theory that everything happens for a reason.”
Collocations for when you need time to think
- Think carefully
- Give it some thought
- Have a good think
- Have a long think
- Have a hard think
- Have a long, hard think about it
Ex. “After their meeting she thought long and hard about how to improve their strategy.”
Ex. “Clearly, with that injury, you need to have a good think about whether you should run in the marathon again this year.”
Ex.”I appreciate your offer, I will definitely give it some thought.”
Collocations for when one thought leads to another
- Inclined to think
- Lead [one] to think
- Think ahead/in advance
Ex. “I’m inclined to think that Hannah’s idea might work.”
Ex. “Unfortunately, the confusing texts lead her to think that their dinner plans were canceled.”
Ex. “I believe we should think ahead and begin planning for this event now.”
Collocations about what OTHERS think
- Common knowledge
- Widespread belief
- Opinions are divided
Ex. “It’s common knowledge that she is the strongest athlete on the team.”
Ex. “There is a widespread belief that vinegar will ease jellyfish stings, but actually hot water is a much better idea.”
Ex. “Opinions are divided as to whether the new office paint color should be olive green or light mauve.”
Collocations for when you’re worried or have a doubt about what you think
- Nagging doubt/feeling
- Wrestling with a problem/issue/situation
Ex. “I have a nagging doubt/feeling that it may go horribly wrong tomorrow!” (horribly wrong is a great collocation to use too!)
Ex. “I have been wrestling with this issue for over a week now!”
❤️ Love this lesson? Discover more Confident English lessons with collocations here: Collocation Lessons
So, are you feeling ready to practice?
Putting words together into little collocation chunks is a great way to help you build sentences really quickly and easily as you are speaking.
Try these practice questions.
- What could you say to your friend if it sounds like they need to spend some time thinking about a problem?
- What collocations could you use to express your thoughts about climate change?
The best place to share and learn from others in the Confident English Community is in the comment section below.
~ Annemarie
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Thank you Annemarie for your hard work and your excellent lessons.
1- Before making the decision, you should give it some though !
2-The whole word have a widespread belief that climate change will impact badly our life in this planet. We should all get involved to save our planet and have a long, hard think about how to make strategies to solve this big problem.
Thank you Annemarie for your excellent lesson. It’s very educational and helpful. God bless you.
1- I concur with you after hearing your viewpoint. Give it some thought and take your time.
2- I honestly think it is everyone’s responsibility to think wisely when using the resources of the natural world and to cut back on unnecessary consumption.
Woohoo! Wonderful examples! 🙌
Hi Annemarie mam,
Thanks for this video 😊
1. I personally think, you should take one more opinion for your problem.
2. I thought that we have to cancelled our tomorrow’s picnic plan.
Scenario-1
I can totally understand if you need time to give it some thought.
Scenario-2
Opinions are divided on climate change but I subscribe to the theory that climate change is already having an impact on human life and it will intensify in coming years. Therefore, I take a view that its high time we reduce carbon footprints on planet earth and save humans and other species from this catastrophe.
Q 1, I suggest you give your decision a long hard thought.
Q 2, I have been of this nagging feeling that our picnic tomorrow may be stopped due to a heavy downpour.
Hi, I’m glad I joined your lessons on speaking English. Your explanations are very easy to follow.
Hi Annemarie,
I just want to take a minute to say thank you. I’m so glad that I found your website. For the last 3 weeks, I’ve learned a lot of useful English lessons here.
Q.1: If I were you, I will have a long, hard think about this problem before making any decisions.
Q2: I take the view that our planet is getting warmer every day because of the industrialization. There is a widespread belief that if we don’t eliminate the warming, humans will expose to extreme heatwaves in the next 5 years.
Thanks again,
You are such a wonderful teacher. I am blessed with this lesson. Thank you!
1. I fervently believe you are brave to handle this problem, all you need is to have a long hard think about the solution.
2. Opinions are divided as the climate change may affect the flight tomorrow, I personally think, the flight should be cancelled.
Hi Ayotunde,
I’m so happy to know this lesson was helpful to you. And you’ve got such great examples here using collocations from the lesson. I particularly like number one with ‘I fervently believe.’ Nicely done.
One note about number two. When we talk about ‘climate change’ we don’t mean the daily change in weather but rather changes in the earth’s climate system over a long period of time.
Hi. Thank you for the video, very helpful here are my answers
1) This is certainly a difficult decision to make I suggest, you give it some thought. I am pretty sure you will take the right decision.
2) All together, we need to do something about climate change, we should have a good think about how our actions are contributing to this matter. I subscribe to the theory that simple actions make a difference.
Oh, nice work, Kattia! I like how you’ve used some of the collocations from the lesson, especially with multiple examples in sentence 2.
One thing: In English, we use a different verb with _____ a decision. Do you know what it might be?
Hi Ayodele,
Thank you so much for creating your time to us, it helpful.
1. I will try to have a good talk with him and give him some space in order to think wisely about his personal problem. I believe he can solve it.
2. The weather climatic change either positive way or negative way but it depend on the type of weather you like to live with.
Hi Ayodele, great use of the term think wisely! Well done! Usually we say ‘climate change’ rather than climatic change. Good job on taking some time to practice and use what you learned in the video!
Thanks for the lesson!
My answers:
1.I honestly think that you should spend some more time to have a long,hard think about this problem
2. I take a view that the effects of climate change can be turned into better, if we act wisely thinking carefully about the environment
You are so welcome Spec. I love the way you use ‘honestly think’ and ‘long, hard think’ in your example! Awesome sentence! In your second example, grammatically it would be better to say – I take the view that the effects of climate change can be changed for the better. You have done a great job using ‘act wisely’ and ‘thinking carefully’, if you pop a comma in between those two it would work so well. Well done on some great examples here.
Hi Annemarie, as usual another helpfull and great lesson. Thank you!
1) In my opinion if you have a long, hard think about this problem you can find the right solution. Because I know you, and I know you can do it.
2) Opinions are divided about this problem, but I dread to think about what disasters climate change will bring. The future of humans may go terribly wrong if we don’t do something immediately
Have a nice day!
Annalisa
Hi Annalisa,
Thanks so much. I’m glad it was helpful.
I love your examples, especially the second one with two collocations: opinions are divided and dread to think. Excellent work!
Hello Annemarie,
Thank you for your helpful lesson.
Q-1-What could you say to your friend if it sounds like they need to spend some time thinking about a problem?
A-1- I had a long ,hard thoughts about it and gave them good ideas to solve there problems.
Q-2- What collocations could you use to express your thoughts about climate change?
A-2-My widespread belief we must avoid burning forest and cutting trees to protect our climate change.
Have a lovely warm night .
Munira.
Hi Munira,
Thanks for sharing your answers. 🙂 A couple of things:
1. Note the collocation is ‘to have a long, hard think’ as opposed to thoughts.
2. Widespread belief is used for what other people think. For example, “It is a widespread belief that we must avoid…” but we don’t use this for personal beliefs. What could you change here?
First question
After the large drop in your sales you need to have a hard think about sales promotion strategies
Second question
I subscribe to the theory that climate change negatively affect food security
Wonderful, Nagat! You’ve used two of the collocations from this lesson perfectly. Nicely done. 🙂
One note: there’s something missing on the word “affect.” Any idea what it might be?